Cooking, baking and entertaining is a treat to me and I treated myself to a lot of it over the holidays. For one meal I baked Herb Roast Chicken and Vegetables, homemade dinner rolls, a tossed salad and Apple Crostata for dessert. For another meal I made Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin, baked potatoes, Cascadian Farms edemame (green soybeans) and Cranberry Sauce. (I'm always trying to add fruits or vegetables to dishes and get my kids and guests to eat more fruits and vegetables.) I baked Oatmeal Cookies, made peanut brittle and homemade lefse.
Though my kids are now teens, they still prefer simple foods; pancakes, scrambled eggs and hash browns are among their favorites. One day over break my daughter Ruby said, "Mom, for one meal can't we just have scrambled eggs?" So I decided to make a brunch. Apple Oven Pancake, a puffy oven pancake with slices of apple, butter and brown sugar on the bottom of the dish was the star--it was definitely a hit! I served it with sausage, fried potatoes, clementine slices and sparking grape juice. My kids were happy, but I was too, secretly knowing that they had just eaten 4 servings of fruits and vegetables at one meal.
Sometimes simple is better!
You can find Apple Oven Pancake, along with Herb Roast Chicken and Vegetables, Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin, Apple Crostata and Oatmeal Cookies recipes in the latest Betty Crocker "Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today" cookbook.